Zack Addy
Zachary Uriah "Zack" Addy PhD is a professional forensic anthropologist who works for the Jeffersonian Institute. He was originally Dr. Brennan's brilliant young assistant at the beginning of the series before he received his doctorate in Forensic Anthropology in the series' second season. Personality Coming from a large Michigan family (with three brothers and four sisters), Zack is a former child prodigy, a genius with an I.Q. well above 163 and a supposed photographic memory. He has started two doctorates, one in Forensic Anthropology, which he has completed, and one in Engineering, which he has yet to finish. His specialty, like Dr. Brennan, is in the analysis of remains, especially identifying cause of death and weapons from marks remaining on skeletal remains. It is usually his task to remove the flesh from the bones, a process known as debriding. Because of his tremendous intellect, he has a strong broad-based knowledge of many of the specialties in the Jeffersonian lab. Despite his intelligence, Zack is unsure of himself and though he has come up with crucial insights vital to some of the team's cases, he is unable to forcefully express his opinion to Dr. Brennan. This may be due to hero worship and also to romantic feelings toward her. When he discovered that Temperance's own Forensic Anthropology professor had become her lover, Zack repeatedly wondered aloud whether he might enter into a similar relationship with Dr. Brennan. He was quickly disabused of the notion by his colleagues. In The Wannabe in the Weeds episode of Bones, it was discovered that Zack was a singer during his childhood as a way for his parents to help integrate him socially. Though it did not appear so, this fact becomes evident in a scene with Hodgins as a way to prove himself when Hodgins doubted him. According to Emily Deschanel, Zack "almost definitely has Asperger's syndrome", a high functioning brand of autism.Gray, Ellen, "Boreanaz says 'Bones' is not procedural", Philadelphia Daily News, January 31, 2007. Although well-meaning, helpful, and friendly, when a situation calls for social interaction or intuition, he is often lost. Further evidence of his social ineptitude can be seen in the frequent, on-screen coaching in social matters he gets from Jack and Angela. Early Life As seen in the episode The Man in the Fallout Shelter, Zack has a large family and greatly values them, remarking that the true meaning of Christmas is "Brothers, Sisters, nieces, nephews, forty people who love you and are happy to see you." Season One Episodes towards the end of the first season of Bones reveal that Zack's colleagues, especially Dr. Goodman, feel he has become too comfortable as Dr. Brennan's assistant and is therefore not completing any of his Doctorates to avoid having to grow into a new position. Goodman and Hodgins conspire to make Zack less comfortable in his position to motivate him to complete his studies and assume a role above that of an assistant. Season Two Right before he was about to complete his doctorate, Zack asks Dr. Saroyan if he could have a job working at the Jeffersonian, but she replies that she could not put him in front of a court to testify because people would not take him seriously. Zack then goes to ask Angela for fashion advice and she completely redoes his look including a new haircut and suit. After completing his doctorate, and getting a makeover from Angela, Zack again asks Dr. Camille Saroyan for a job, and she gives it to him. At the end of the second season, Zack receives a request from the office of the President to ship out to Iraq. What his duties there would be is not revealed, and he only tells Hodgins and Booth about it. He initially seems inclined to go, but after talking about the reality of war with Booth, he seems less sure, asking Booth for advice because he "knows more about duty and honor than anyone else" he knows. He also turns down the offer to be best man at Hodgins and Angela's wedding in case he decides to go to Iraq and is killed, because he doesn't want Hodgins's memories of the wedding to be tainted with sadness. In the first episode of season 3, it is revealed that he did in fact go to Iraq but returned in that same episode. Season Three In the final episode of season three, Pain in the Heart, Zack receives third-degree burns and massive tissue damage (the cartilage on his left hand was destroyed, among other things) on both hands after an explosion in the lab. It is later revealed that he is working as the apprentice of the The Gormogon serial killer, and the explosion was intended as a distraction so Gormogon could break into the lab and steal a skeleton. Zack's weaker personality was manipulated by the Gormogon (whom he referred to as "the Master") so completely that Zack believed his belief system irrefutable, even killing a lobbyist and dividing his bones among the Jeffersonian's storage units. However, he still maintained a loyalty to his friends, willing to injure himself to keep Hodgins safe and giving up the location of Gormogon's house. At the end of the episode, the prosecutor Caroline Julian says that while Zack has confessed to killing the lobbyist she is willing to work out a deal to have him declared non compos mentis, a decision which will commit him to an asylum rather than prison. Zack will no longer be a regular character on the show, but series creator Hart Hanson said that he may become a recurring character to provide consults to the team with "certain talents we can use in a 'Hannibal Lecter' kind of way." Mitovitch, Matt Webb. "Exclusive: Bones Boss Responds to Finale "Zack-lash"", TV Guide, May 21, 2008. Season Four Zack begins to receive psychological treatment from Sweets (The Perfect Pieces in the Purple Pond). Feeling guilt about aiding a serial killer and admitting to his mistake, Sweets believes that Zack shouldn't feel bad about being wrong, but about being delusional during the period of being Gormogon's apprentice. Not only that, Sweets believes that Zack should actually feel guilty about killing the lobbyist more than about being wrong. Zack later escapes the institution by swapping the magnetic strips from Sweets' key card to Zack's library card. After solving the case, Zack realizes it's time to go back to the institution where Sweets was waiting. After Booth reliquishes Zack to Sweets' hands, Zack admits to not killing the lobbyist and that someone else had killed the lobbyist, instead. Since Gormogon can only have one apprentice, he kills the original lobbyist's murderer in order to take Zack under his wing. Though not the actual killer, Zack does not want the truth to be revealed to his colleagues at the Jeffersonian as if his secret were to come out, Zack will find himself in prison as he is still an "accessory" to the lobbyist's murder. Out of fear of finding himself in prison (due to Hodgins' firm belief that Zack "would NOT do well in prison"), he reminds Sweets that as Zack's therapist, he must not reveal Zack's secret as if Sweets were to do so, he'd be violating doctor-patient confidentiality. Relationship with Naomi Zack appears to have an on-again, off-again relationship with "Naomi in Paleontology", despite hints in the first season that she was dissatisfied with his sexual prowess. In the third season, they accompany each other to the annual Jeffersonian Institute Halloween party, agreeing to dress as the front and back half of a cow. Relationship with Jack Hodgins Zack's only friend seems to be Jack Hodgins, with whom it was once thought he was roommates. They often compete with Jack to be "King of the lab", the one who helps with the investigation most. In fact, he rents from and also carpools with Jack, since he can't drive or ride a bike, simply because he refuses to learn. He once made a comment to Booth that if he (Booth) had the same understanding of structural engineering, he would be afraid to drive as well. References Category:Main characters Category:Season 1 characters Category:Season 2 characters Category:Season 3 characters Category:Season 4 characters Category:Jeffersonian Institute